Hey Everyone!
Just bought a Mercedes with an Alcantera headliner and trim on seats. The previous owner was a smoker and even though he said he never smoked in the car with windows up it still smells like smoke. Just wondering if there is a way to clean the suade headliner as I imagine most of the smell is in there. I will be replacing the cabin filter with a charcoal activated one as well. Thanks for any suggestions!
Too bad the owner was not very truthful.. Sorry this had to happen to you..
When you put your nose close to the Headliner, the seats, the door panels, carpets, do you smell smoke ??
In my experiences with smoked out cars, it is never easy to remove the smoke smell, and worse, all the nicotine that is stuck to everything in the entire Interior..
If it was smoked in a lot, there is a film of nicotine on every square inch of the Interior that contributes to the smell..
If only the Driver smoked, the most nicotine will be on the entire left side of the Interior, from the front glass, the dash, steering wheel, the carpets, doors, seatbelts, the entire headliner all the way back to the left side of the back seat, back glass, the package tray, all the surfaces back there especially on the left side..
If both Driver and Passenger/s smoked, then its twice as bad..
For sure, even if one 1 person smoked, every square inch of the Interior needs to be cleaned really well with a good, All Purpose Cleaner that does not foam a lot so it can be rinsed carefully, or even better, carefully steamed into every square inch, and wiped carefully..
You should be able to see the Nicotine come off things if you use white towels... Hopefully ,
hopefully, it was just smoked in a little and there will be not as much work here..
I also use the same good, low foaming APC on all the carpets with steam and then rinse and extract everything..
Another solution that some people do, that I don`t recommend, is to put a bomb thing in there that puts out an overpowering scent that covers up the Nicotine smell, but in my experiences, this new smell makes some people so ill, they cannot drive the car any longer..
Be careful with Alcantara, it does not like a lot of brushing sometimes, and too much moisture can change the way it lays down, etc..
Follow your nose, when you don`t smell it anywhere, then you are done..
Yes, change out the Interior Filter and that may help from recycling the smell in it already from the cigarette smoke..
The last place that may harbor the smell will be all the ducting for the AC/Heater..
Einszett may still make a product for this called Klima-Kleen, that you set on the floor, open up the can, turn on the AC with the car running, so it sucks it up into the duct work, and helps remove the smell from the ducts..
Dan F
